A broken link: two generations in a rural household in Massinga district, southern Mozambique

Abstract

Labour migration has long been a recurrent topic in southern Africa, owing to the appearance of industrialised mining production in the mid-nineteenth century, and its overall effects on land and agriculture. In Mozambique, historically one of the main suppliers to mines, the debate on labour migration has been a constant one. I draw on fieldwork research done in southern Mozambique to show the impact of a change in recruitment policies by the South African mines in the 1970s, and how the consequences last until the present. I suggest that the case study presented here helps us to build a broader picture on migration processes in southern Africa, as well as to be aware of the regional challenges underlying local realities.